"The God Wars" - Chapter Twenty-one: Merchant of Hellekos

The God Wars

Chapter Twenty-one:

Merchant of Hellekos

By Dwayne MacInnes

The people of Zakrostas over the last several months had seen great changes. These Otherworlders with strange titles like American or British brought wonderful and new ideas and technologies. These technologies could defeat the cruel and uncaring gods that for millennia toyed with the mortals like their own personal playthings.

The Otherworlders had constructed a power plant outside the city's walls. It consumed coal and heated water that in turn powered generators that produced the strange energy called electricity. Now great parts of Zakrostas had long lines stretching from building to building that brought the electricity. Lamps that worked off the electricity would illuminate the darkness. Strange machines called radio would bring voices and music from miles away to home. Most wonderful of all was the theater that played fantastic images on a screen.

The citizens knew the Otherworlders were men just like them, but their knowledge of science rivaled even the gods. Not even Hephaestus ever created metal boats that floated on the ocean or iron birds that could fly in the sky. The huge iron chariots that could produce instant death from the long tubes in their turrets were also a marvel to behold.

However, just as strange as these technologies another thought was new to the citizens of Zakrostas, the idea of a republic. Sure, the Atlanteans were familiar with the democracy used by the Athenians back on their old world. But, the idea of freedom for all and a president, congress, and supreme court to balance each other was entirely new.

Even now, an election was in progress to see who would be the new president of the Republic of Atlantis for the next four years. After that, they would hold another election to see if the current president should rule for another four years or a new one should take over. So far, the people of Zakrostas were firmly behind the idea of electing the Otherworlder called Roger Greer. His language schools proved immensely popular. Plus, the fact that he married a local girl called Mina helped endear him to the hearts of the locals.

General Crist sat behind his desk in the newly constructed military headquarters in Zakrostas. He rubbed his eyes as he placed the latest reports upon the desk next to the lamp.

The reports contained several pieces of good news and some bad. The field team discovered a petroleum field to the northeast near the Tekos Hills. Right now, they had drilled several wells and oil was stored in barrels. A small town grew up around the site now called Little Houston.

The engineers were proposing the construction of a railroad to the oil fields and back to Zakrostas. Steel production was up significantly and already steel girder manufacturing was considerable for the construction of the tall buildings popping up around Zakrostas.

Several of the surrounding towns as well as Zakrostas now boasted a radio station. Even the recently construction Fort Knopso, hundreds of miles to the north, could communicate with the capitol. Long strings of telephone lines connected key cities and villages. However, telephones and operator stations still were not a common occurrence.

Some scientists were successful in rediscovering synthetic rubber. Once cars and trucks became commonplace the rubber for tires, gaskets, hoses, etc. would prove extremely important.

However, the one thing that was bothering Crist the most right now was the lack of repairs on the machine on the Pima. Dr. Reno and his team worked feverishly to repair it. Yet, after all these months on the strange world, it still refused to work. Dr. Reno could not explain it. But, there was nothing he could do to get it to function.

General Crist slammed his fists down on the desk again in frustration. Already several men were experiencing deep depressions. The psych ward on the Respite could not handle all the cases. There was only one psychiatrist, and he was greatly overwhelmed. Fortunately, they had a good number of chaplains on hand to help him with his workload.

"Damn," Crist swore, he would love to have a cigarette. But, there was not any tobacco leaves found on this world yet and the last butt had been smoked months before. Fortunately, coffee, the general's next vice of choice was in ready supply. The beans grew in southern regions of the Kingdom of Atlantis.

"General?" a woman's voice with an accent spoke from the doorway. General Crist looked up to see the woman he had promoted to general of the local forces. It had totally slipped Crist's mind that he had invited her back to Zakrostas to meet with him.

General Crist stood up. "I'm sorry General Theena. I've been preoccupied. Please come in and have a seat."

General Theena also known as the Amazon of Knopso entered the office and sat in a wooden chair opposite the desk were Crist sat. She was wearing the new officer's uniform designed in much the same style as the Americans. Much like many of the local forces, she still carried a short sword belted around her waste. She wore the medals announcing the campaigns she fought in as well as her decorations of bravery on her chest.

"Your work on Fort Knopso and the recruitment of soldiers is astounding," Crist said looking at another set of reports. "I see Lieutenant Rogers is also impressed."

"Yes sir," Theena said. "I have followed your plans to the letter. I am very impressed with how you Otherworlders think out your battle plans so thoroughly. You anticipate the enemy's actions before they have even conceived of them."

"You can never prepare enough," Crist replied. "There is always a new plan that has never been thought of."

"That is true, sir," Theena said.

"Well, enough chit-chat," Crist said. "I had you summoned here so that I can instruct you in some of the more mundane tasks of being a general. For the next couple of months you will follow me around."

* * * * *

The sun was nearly down when the lone stranger approached the city gates. He led a donkey pulling a wooden cart behind him. He would make it inside the city just before the guards shut the gates for the night.

As the man approached the gate, a guard halted him. "What is your name and business?" the guard asked.

"I am Hyrtios of Hellekos, a simple merchant who thought he'd try his luck in the great city of Zakrostas."

"Very well you may enter," the guard waved the merchant through the gate.

It had only been two weeks since the conference on Mount Olympus and so far, Hermes' plan was working well. The god smiled to himself as he urged his donkey through the city gates. He had much work to do, and he needed to start as soon as possible.